13/12/2022
NEWS STORY
Frederic Vasseur, who has been linked with the team principal role at Ferrari following Mattia Binotto's departure, is to leave Alfa Romeo.
He will leave his role at Alfa Romeo and as Sauber Motorsport CEO in January 2023, following six successful seasons at the helm of the team.
The announcement marks the final chapter of a personal and professional path of growth for both the team and the man, a journey that culminated in Alfa Romeo clinching its best result in the constructors' standings in a decade with sixth place in the 2022 season.
Appointing Fred was one of the first acts of the new shareholder of the team, in 2017, said today's release, the popular Frenchman joined a team stuck at the back of the grid and struggling to attract talent. Through relentless work, belief in the team's own potential and shrewd management, things improved under Fred's watch: points became a regular target; partners started adorning the once-blank bodywork of the car; employee numbers kept ticking up.
Progress on and off track was followed by a growing sense of confidence in Hinwil: confidence that this team could once again be at the sharp end of the grid; confidence that things would get better season after season; confidence that top talent would once again flourish in the sole reality of motorsport in the Zurcher Oberland. This all stemmed from Fred's own sense of confidence: not in himself, but in the project that was presented to him in 2017 - a project in which he was one of the first to believe.
Vasseur leaves a team bolstered by new partners, a growing workforce and with a bright future as the works team for a manufacturer in the not-too-far distance. He leaves as a friend, a mentor, a boss that could extract the best out of his charges: and, as we enter a new chapter of the history of our team, we will miss the smiles and jokes that would accompany him as he did the rounds in our Hinwil HQ.
Merci, Fred, et bonne chance. We'll be cheering for you wherever you go next.
"As I prepare to bring my adventure at Alfa Romeo to an end, I can look back fondly at these six years together," said Vasseur. "I owe a debt of gratitude to every single employee of the team, as they are the ones who got this team back on their feet and climbing the ladder of our sport.
"I am proud of the job we collectively have done as a team and a company, and even more so of the strong foundations we have laid for what's to come next: but what I am the proudest of is the people that made this all possible, which in time have become friends.
"This team will always feel like home and I'll be rooting for it wherever I go. I have learnt so much during my stint as a CEO and Team Principal and I feel each day has equipped me for what is to come. I know Alfa Romeo will keep going from strength to strength and I'm looking forward to seeing them compete at the business end of the grid in the next few years."
"Frederic gave our team six years of inspiring leadership and hard work," added Finn Rausing, Sauber Holding AG Chairman of the Board of Directors, "helping rebuild our company and our team. He was able to encourage every one of us into giving our best and the increasingly good results we have enjoyed are testament to the quality of his performance at the helm of the team.
"He was the first to believe in our project and he leaves a team in a much stronger, healthier position than when he arrived, with a bright future ahead of us, which is all that could have been asked of him. I am sure I echo everyone in the team when I wish Fred every success in his future endeavours."
While Alfa Romeo has yet to announce who will replace Vasseur, one wonders when Ferrari will announce the inevitable.